A Georgia sheriff pleaded guilty to groping TV judge Glenda Hatchett during a law enforcement conference last year
From
RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
August 21, 2023, 2:04 p.m. ET
3 minutes read
A Georgia sheriff pleaded guilty Monday to groping TV judge Glenda Hatchett, who recalled being so stunned that she froze when the lawman grabbed her breast during a police conference in a hotel bar last year and pressed.
Bleckley County Sheriff Kristopher Coody pleaded guilty in Cobb County State Court to sexual assault and was sentenced to one year of probation, news outlets reported. He also resigned from the position he had held since 2017.
“He hurt me so much, and in that moment I felt so powerless,” Hatchett told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday after the hearing. “I see myself as a strong woman. I’ve never been a victim and I thought it was important that there was accountability.”
Hatchett, an Atlanta attorney, starred in the courtroom reality shows “Judge Hatchett” and “The Verdict With Judge Hatchett.” She also represented the family of Philando Castile, a black driver shot by a Minnesota police officer in a Twin Cities suburb, in a high-profile trial.
In January 2022, she attended a Georgia Sheriff’s Association meeting as a guest of a retired Georgia sheriff, who introduced her to several colleagues. One of the sheriffs she met in the bar of the convention hotel outside Atlanta was Coody.
Hatchett said she told Coody she wasn’t sure where his home county was. The sheriff pointed his finger at her breast, she said, and replied, “In the heart of Georgia.” She said he then repeated those words as he grabbed her left breast and began squeezing and rubbing it.
Hatchett said she froze in shock and that it was her host, former DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, who grabbed Coody’s arm and pulled him away from her.
“It happened on a Tuesday and by Thursday morning I couldn’t get out of bed,” Hatchett said. “So I literally started counseling that night.”
She reported the incident to Cobb County authorities, who obtained a warrant for Coody’s arrest. The case was pending in court pending the sheriff’s plea Monday.
Hatchett sat in the front row of the courtroom as Judge Carl Bowers sentenced Coody to a year of probation, a $500 fine and 400 hours of community service. Sheriff’s attorney Joel Pugh said Coody sent a letter of resignation to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday morning.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward. Hatchett said she feels compelled to speak out, in part because many women can’t.
“I don’t want to be the poster child for this, but I think it’s important for me to be very open,” she said, adding, “It’s important that other victims see that I’m holding him accountable.”
Coody had been sheriff since 2017 of Bleckley County, a rural community of about 12,000 people located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Macon.
